Water sealing component for installing siding

ABSTRACT

A component for making rigid water tight installations of siding materials, such as aluminum. The component has a body with an elongated slot therein. A flange is located at one end of the component at right angles to the body. The body has a wall at right angles therewith and the wall tapers from one end to the other.

United States Patent [191 Leddy 1 Sept. 23, 1975 [5 WATER SEALINGCOMPONENT FOR 2,225,992 12/1940 52/60 INSTALLING SIDING 3,139,703 7/196452/211 3,289,380 l2/l966 52/288 [76] Inventor: Robert Leddy, 35 Dale CL,3 500 00 3 1970 5 gg Norwood, NJ. 07648 3,698,142 10/1972 Theriault52/58 [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1974 Primary ExaminerHenry C. Sutherland [21]Appl' N05 529,090 Attorney, Agent, or FirmDominic J. Terminello [52] US.Cl. 52/712; 52/58; 52/211; 57 ABSTRACT 52/288; 52/551 51 Int C|.2 E041)3/3 E041) 3/3 E04]: 13/00 A component for making rigid water tightinstallations [58 Field at Search 52/58, 60-62, of Siding materials,Such as aluminum The Component 52/288 2] 1, 551, 712 714 has a body withan elongated slot therein. A flange is located at one end of thecomponent at right angles to [56] References Cited the body. The bodyhas a wall at right angles therewith UNITED STATES PATENTS and the walltapers from one end to the other.

1,218,937 3/1917 Heard 52/60 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures WATER SEALINGCOMPONENT FOR INSTALLING -SIDING The invention relates to a componentfor making rigid water-tight installations of siding material and moreparticularly to such components for making rigid water-tight aluminumsiding installations.

For simplicity, reference will be made throughout this disclosure toaluminum siding material. Such reference is not intended in any way tolimit the component of this invention to the installation of aluminumsiding.

In installing aluminum siding it is normal practice to use I channelsaround all places where siding terminates such as windows and doorsites.Corner posts are usually used at corners. The J channel and corner postsprovide a place into which the aluminum panels terminate. Frequentlywindows are located in proximity to each other, for example, two windowsmay be 3 feet (36 inches) apart in a structure. In such case the Jchannels would be placed around each window. Because the faces of Jchannels are typically /2 inch wide, the daylight space between the Jchannels will be 35 inches. The aluminum siding being installed betweenthe two J channels would have to be cut somewhat less than the openingspace, i.e. at least 3 inch. The panel then will be slightly flexed andforced into the opening between the channels and then centeredtherebetween leaving approximately Vs inch space at each end between theend of the siding and the channel. This creates a vertical seam betweenthe J-channel and the panel end along the entire length of the window ordoor, etc. A header piece of J-channel is placed horizontally andextending about ya inch beyond the vertical J-channel. The body of thehorizontal J-channel is snipped and bent over the body of the verticalJ- channel. This ties in both J-channel members and a gutter effect iscreated. Much of the water coming down the wall of a structure is caughtby the horizontal header piece which directs the flow of water down thevertical channel and directly into the wall through the vertical seambetween the J-channel and the end of the panel. It is obvious then thatin a typical structure having 15 to 30 windows, doors and/o: inside andoutside corners a great deal of water gets behind the siding materialand into the wall of the structure.

It has become the undesirable but standard practice not to caulk thevertical space between the siding panel and the J-channel. The reasonthe space is not caulked is due to the vertical pitch of the sidingpanels. Siding panels are typically 8 inches wide. Therefore at each 8inch interval on the wall there is a tapered opening in the J-channelwhich at one end of the panel is about inch and in the 8 inch widthdecreases to at the other end. In attempting to caulk each one of theseareas, it would be necessary to insert the nozzle of the caulking guninto the space and run a bead down the panel 8 inches. Since the openingdecreases to 0, the nozzle of the caulking gun would only go for about 6inches at which point it would have to be retracted, usually leaving atrail of caulking behind and in general a very unsightly area. Also, thefact that if the time were taken to do a neat job, in a few months time,the caulking would be discolored and eventually crack and open due tothe hollowed areas behind the siding and the expansion and contractionof the aluminum panels. For these reasonsit has become the standardpractice not to caulk these vertical spaces. Manufacturers applicationmanuals stress the sealing of these seams but do not offer any means foraccomplishing this task.

Therefore it is the main object of this invention to provide a componentwhich will make a simple rigid, vertical water-tight installation ofsiding materials around such places as windows, doors, and inside andoutside corners.

Another object is to provide a component which will simplify themechanics task of providing a quality installation of siding.

Yet another object is to eliminate need for caulking at vertical spaces.

Yet a further object is to eliminate the need for backing tabs toprovide a rigidstructure where panels terminate.

These and other objects will either be pointed out or become apparentfrom the following designations and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan elevation view of the component of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a prospective view of a siding panel fitted into a J-channelwith the component;

FIG. 3 is a prospective view of a siding panel fitted with a J-channelwithout the component.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 wherein like parts bear like referencecharacters, the component comprises a body 1 having an elongated slot 2which terminates at one end in a flange 3. Flange 3 is substantially atright angles to the length of the slot 2 and has a width 4 substantiallythe same as the butt B of the siding panel P being installed. The slot 2is for slideably receiving the edge of the siding panel P. The componenthas a wall W at substantially right angles to the body 1 and extendsfrom the flange end F of the component to the other end E with the walltapering from its smallest width S at the flange end F to its largestwidth L at the opposite end E.

In the preferred embodiment the slot 2 terminates a distance D from theend E which distance is substantially equal to the dimension of the lockportion L of the siding panel.

While the dimensions of the various sections of the components are notcritical, the sections themselves are critical. The flange 3 is requiredto seal the under space between the butt end of the panel and the J-channel J. The tapered wall is necessary to match the vertical pitch ofthe panel. The distance D on the component is necessary to permitlocking of the panel and to provide a continuous conduit formed by thecomponents for water to flow from panel to panel to the bottom of thestructure.

FIG. 3 illustrates the seam M formed between the panel P and the.I-channel I when a component is not used. In FIG. 2 a component is usedand .it is obvious that the seam has been sealed not only against waterbut also wind, bugs and other foreign objects.

Another use for the component of the invention is on new constructionwhere the siding is installed directly over wood sheathing, and wherewindow and door casings are covered with aluminum. In such a situation,the window and door casings are extended out from the sheathing theirfull thickness, approximately inch at which point J-channels are nailedaround the casing to receive the siding panels. In this type ofinstallation a double seam is created. One between the siding going intothe J-channel and the other seam created between the casing and theJ-channel itself.

The water problem is more critical on new construction because there isno siding material under the aluminum as in a remodeling job andpossibility of water seepage into the house is much greater. Thecomponent of the invention in new construction eliminates the need for a.I-channel around windows and doors.

Because the component slideably engages the siding panel, it can be usedto extend the siding panel. it is obvious from the foregoing that thewater-tight component acts also as a panel extension or expander. Theslideable mounted component can extend the length of a panel a distanceequal to the width of the slot in the component.

Further, the component of the invention, in addition to acting as awater sealing component and expander, also acts as a rigid supportmember which eliminates the need for a backing tab. Manufacturerssuggest that backing tabs be installed at all seams and ends of panelsto provide rigidity to the installation when hollow panels (panelswithout backing boards) are being installed.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment, obvious modifications will become apparent to those skilledin the art and such modifications are intended to be covered by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A component for making rigid water-tight vertical seams ininstallations of siding material, said component comprising a body, saidbody being reversely bent upon itself to define an elongated slot insaid body for slideably receiving a siding panel, said slot terminatingat one end in a flange which is substantially at right angles to thelength of said slot and said body and having a width substantially thesame as the thickness of the butt of said siding panel, said body beingfurther bent to define a wall at substantially right angles to theportions of said body defining said slot and extending in a directionopposite from said flange said wall tapering from its smallest width atthe flange, end of the said body to its largest width at the oppositeend of said body.

2. Component according to claim 1 wherein said slot terminates adistance from the end of said body opposite the flange and whichdistance is substantially equal to the dimension of the locking portionof said siding panel.

3. Component according to claim 1 wherein the component is aluminum.

1. A component for making rigid water-tight vertical seams ininstallations of siding material, said component comprising a body, saidbody being reversely bent upon itself to define an elongated slot insaid body for slideably receiving a siding panel, said slot terminatingat one end in a flange which is substantially at right angles to thelength of said slot and said body and having a width substantially thesame as the thickness of the butt of said siding panel, said body beingfurther bent to define a wall at substantially right angles to theportions of said body defining said slot and extending in a directionopposite from said flange said wall tapering from its smallest width atthe flange, end of the said body to its largest width at the oppositeend of said body.
 2. Component according to claim 1 wherein said slotterminates a distance from the end of said body opposite the flange andwhich distance is substantially equal to the dimension of the lockingportion of said siding panel.
 3. Component according to claim 1 whereinthe component is aluminum.